À propos de l’œuvre
Les meules de blé sous la lumière du soleil, l'effet du matin, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Giverny · 1891 · W1266
Grinding wheels, late summer W1266hand painted reproduction
Two gerbiers bathed in late summer light stand in front of the hills of Giverny, the largest on the right and the second set back on the left. This oil on canvas measuring 60.5 × 100.8 cm, signed Claude Monet 91, is kept at the Musée d'Orsay under number RF 1975 3 and corresponds to Wildenstein 1266.
Look at the work
Two stackers are enough to measure distance, heat and time
The large nearby gerbier fills the right and casts a cold shadow out of the frame. The smallest, placed on the left, recedes by its size and by a dewier range; between them, a strip of field leads towards the trees and the hills.
The yellows of the straw are crossed with orange-red, purple and blue. The very clear sky and the purple reliefs soften the depth: the solar effect depends on a multitude of colored touches rather than white light.
W1266 transforms two very simple agricultural volumes into measuring instruments: one indicates the near, the other the far, and their colors record the moment of end of summer.
Composition, touch and light
What Monet builds behind the impression of snapshot
Three precise elements allow us to understand this composition and the essential difficulties of faithful reproduction.
A depth based on two scales
The relationship between the large right gerbier and the small left shape immediately gives the distance. The central void and the cast shadow reinforce this movement towards the bottom.
Purple shadows under the sun
Unlit faces are never brown or gray. Monet mixes purple, blue and red with ochres to maintain the vibration of the straw.
The series exhibited in 1891
The Musée d'Orsay indicates that the painting was acquired directly from the artist by Durand-Ruel on May 9, 1891 and presented the same year in the exhibition of his recent works.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The sheet uses a single complete view of the work RF 1975 3. The high definition image is converted into a real WebP of 3,000 × 1,764 px, without artificial enlargement.
A large gerbier off-center on the right
The dominant mass should not be refocused. Its visual weight balances the small gerbier and lets the landscape breathe on the left.
Warm light without uniform yellow
Cream, pink, orange, lilac and blue coexist in the lit areas. This diversity prevents the straw from becoming flat.
A different touch depending on the plans
Brushstrokes are thick and short on the shepherds, more horizontal in the field and more blended into the hills and sky.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Musée d'Orsay documents Meules, end of summer, oil on canvas from 1891, 60.5 × 100.8 cm, inventory RF 1975 3 and Wildenstein 1266.
Claude Monet 91
The painting is signed and dated lower left. This inscription agrees with the Parisian cycle exhibition organized at Durand-Ruel in May 1891.
Acquired by Durand-Ruel on May 9, 1891
The dealer buys the work directly from Monet. It then passed into the collection of the Countess de Brecey before its national acquisition in 1975.
From the Jeu de Paume to the Musée d'Orsay
Purchased in 1975 thanks to an anonymous Canadian donation, the painting was attributed to the Louvre, exhibited at the Jeu de Paume then assigned to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The RF 1975 3 version, Wildenstein 1266
- The large luminous gerbier on the right
- The second, smaller gerbier on the left
- The purple shadows and the landscape of Giverny
Work sheet
| Title | Grinding wheels, late summer W1266 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1891 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 60.5 × 100.8 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France |
| Inventory | RF 1975 3 · Wildenstein 1266 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Panoramic format and light palette are suitable above sofa, console or bed. A linen wall, light oak and lavender, terracotta or gray blue textiles bring out the colorful shadows.
